Life In LC

NCAA Track & Field National Championships (Live Update)

The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships are underway!

The University of Oregon is hosting another in a string of high-profile track meets this weekend. The NCAA Championships are the highlight of track season. The meet features athletes from nearly 150 schools from across the country. These athletes comprise the pool from which many nations will draw future olympians. Come to Hayward this weekend, watch the event on the ESPN family of networks or follow the content online with EDN, to catch a glimpse of sport at its most pure as athletes compete for team, school and self; pushing the limits of what even they imagine their potential to be as they compete in the sport’s most sacred cathedral.

Check back frequently for the latest updates from Hayward Field! Click Here for the complete schedule of events

There will be plenty happening this week at Hayward. In addition to the competition happening on the field the University of Oregon and the NCAA have planned a number of events and booths for spectators to visit during the meet. Be sure to take full advantage of everything happening at the meet!

6:54 PM UPDATE

Oregon four-sport athlete Liz Brenner officially qualifies for the javelin finals coming in at eighth place. Brenner has played basketball, volleyball, softball and now adds track to her incredible year.

In the Men’s 800 meters Oregon athlete Elijah Greer met expectations by winning his semifinal heat with an easy run, setting the third best overall qualifying mark in the process. The Oregon senior, Pac-12 and NCAA indoor champion posted a 1:48.76. He will run for the national championship Friday at 5:30pm.

In the Women’s 400 meters Oregon runner Phyllis Francis qualified for the finals by setting the 5th best mark overall. The pack 12-Champion will run in the final on Friday at 5:55pm.

In the Men’s 400 meters Oregon’s Mike Berry Jr. missed the finals by four one-hundredths of a second running a 45.70. The top three qualifiers were Verberg from GMU (45.14), Landere from Texas A&M (45.36) and Nellum from USC (45.42).

Wonder-Woman made an appearance for Oregon in the Women’s javelin as freshman all-world, do everything, super-athlete, Elizabeth Brenner, has posted a personal best of 168’9″, crushing her previous best mark by nearly ten feet! Still relatively new to the sport, she is merely beginning to unleash her potential as a thrower. Currently sitting in fifth place, if she continues setting PR’s at this pace she may just take the event down!

The Oregon female sprinters blazed the Women’s 100 meters semifinals. Freshman Jenna Prandini and junior English Gardner both automatically qualified from their heats, Prandini running an 11.14 and Gardner running an incredible 11-flat. Both women will compete in the finals at 5:10pm on Friday.

4:55 PM UPDATE

In the women’s 800 meters Oregon runner Laura Roesler won the second heat with a time of 2:03.63 followed closely by Stanford teammates Fedronic and Wissenbach. Roesler won the Pac-12 championship and was the runner up at the indoor championships held earlier this year. With her win she will automatically qualify for the final to be held Friday at 5:20pm.

The University of Oregon Men’s 4×100 meter team was not able to keep pace with their female counterparts as they failed to make the finals. The top qualifiers in the 4×100 were a trio of southern schools, Florida State, LSU and Arkansas.

4:24 PM UPDATE

The Lady Ducks are off to a fast start in the 4×100 meters! The Pac-12 champions won the second qualifying heat with an easy 43.74. They will run in the 4×100 meter finals this evening.

University of Oregon Decathlete Dakotah Keys is currently making a strong showing in the fourth event of the day, the high-jump. He is still alive after having cleared 6’7 1/2″. Keys began the meet by throwing a new personal best of 13.28 meters in the Shot Throw. Dakotah, the Pac-12 Champion, is hoping to make a strong push to win the National Championship.

Mark is a graduate of Brigham Young University and Lewis and Clark School of Law and an MBA candidate at the Marriott School of Business. His career has focused on the intersection of politics, law and business. He brings a unique insider perspective to each article he writes.